Vehicle cockpit specialist Faurecia late on Wednesday (11 January) announced plans to open six new facilities throughout the United States.
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Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, Faurecia North America is scheduled to open additional plants in Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina. This expansion will support production for new programmes with several automakers.
In addition to the 17 plants currently operating in North America, Faurecia now will produce automotive modules for interior systems in Fraser and Sterling Heights, Michigan, and in Northwood, Ohio; seats on a just-in-time basis in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and Fountain Inn, South Carolina; and exhaust systems on a just-in-time basis in Toledo, Ohio.
Faurecia also will produce its first front end module for the North American market at the interior systems plants in Fraser and Sterling Heights, Michigan.
“North America has become a significant part of Faurecia’s global business and market strategy,” said Pierre Lévi, chairman and CEO of Faurecia. “We are proud of the partnerships we have developed with the automakers in the region and the progress we have made in a short time.”
Faurecia has increased its North American business significantly with a number of automakers in recent years, including General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, BMW and Volkswagen. To expand development and production activities for new business, Faurecia will hire more than 2,000 employees over the next four years, bringing its workforce to 9,200 in the region by the end of 2009.
“In North America, Faurecia has grown to a $1.5 billion dollar business and is on target to exceed $2.5 billion in sales by the end of 2009,” said James Orchard, president of Faurecia North America. “In the past year alone, our revenue should reach about a 20% increase. We expect to have invested nearly US$300 million in capital expenditures in the region by 2009 as we meet the needs of our customers with just-in-time facilities, technical operations and component production.”
Faurecia North America had sales of $1.3 billion in 2004. The group has 17 sites in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and employs nearly 7,000 people in the area. It has three technical and development centres in Auburn Hills and Troy, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.
